Harsha Mohan Sharma
(harshasarma183@gmail.com)
With the increase in the number of people, the number of vehicles has also increased rapidly. Even if there is no cash, people can now take motorcars or bikes with the help of bank loans. Apart from this, the government has made arrangements to provide free scooties and motorcycles to the students who have shown good results in the HS examination. As a result, bicycles are now going to disappear slowly on the road. While motor vehicles are on the rise, people’s awareness has not increased. About seventy per cent of the motor vehicles plying on the road are two-wheelers. There are certain rules and regulations to be followed while driving a motor vehicle. But many do not know the Motor Vehicles Act, and many do not want to follow what they know. The result is chaos and a loss of life.
In India, about one and a half lakh people die every year due to road accidents. In Assam too, more than 1,000 people have died in road accidents in the last year. According to a 2022 report of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, road accidents have occurred almost equally in rural and urban areas of the state. Earlier people used to think that cars and motors ply more in urban areas. But over the last few years, the pressure on vehicular movement has increased in rural areas as well. As a result, accidents are also taking place equally, and the mortality rate is almost equal. According to the report, in 2022, 3,780 accidents took place in urban areas in Assam, killing 1,591 people and seriously injuring 2,726 people. Meanwhile, there were 3243 accidents in rural areas, and 1403 people died during this period. On the other hand, 2325 people were seriously injured. Between 2019 and 2022, Assam reported 11,232 major accidents. Assam ranks 18th in the country in road accidents. The report cited rash driving as the main reason.
While uncontrolled speed is the main cause of road accidents, damaged roads, construction of four lanes, drunk driving, lack of proper knowledge of driving and lack of awareness can also be attributed as other factors. In many parts of Assam, people still have to travel through pond-like roads. People have to take high risks with their lives while boarding buses or cars. The road is not rebuilt until some people meet with an accident. The atmosphere of agitation for smooth roads still prevails in Assam. On the other hand, in the name of rebuilding the road, there are reports of many people dying due to falling into the pit dug up by the contractor due to lack of work. Years of work done in the name of making four lanes has also encouraged road accidents. On the other hand, buying cars and motorbikes for children before the appropriate age can be said to be another reason for road accidents. Many are holding steering wheels without knowing the ABCD of driving. Many accidents also occur due to a lack of knowledge of how fast a car is under control, which signal is for what, etc. Road accidents due to mechanical faults and natural calamity are negligible. Above all, many people have to fall into accidents due to a lack of understanding or a lack of awareness about human life. First of all, people have to love themselves. Then the car has to be loved. People who love life have fewer accidents.
Road Safety Week is held every year. The meaning of this may not have been understood or accepted by the common man. Maybe that’s why people don’t do the car papers properly. Many don’t even renew insurance. As a result, money cannot be demanded from the insurance company after the accident. Knowledge must be imparted on safe driving since the first driving lesson. For this, students have to be made aware of safe driving right from the school level itself. The teacher will impart the knowledge of road safety to the student. Students will try to make them aware by expressing that to their parents. And it is the same thing that parents will give their children and make them aware of safe driving from an early age. For example, when the mother or father takes the bike or scooty from home for driving, the child will warn them by saying, “Mother/father, take the helmet or drive slowly.” In the same way, parents will also warn the children in the same tone. The duo will always remind them to bind the seatbelt while driving the car. Every member of the household needs to understand that one of them has a life saturated with the other. Having something wrong with one means the suffering of the people of the whole family. As soon as you go carefully in your car, you have to be careful even if you go in a public car. The government has imposed road-wise car speed rules, but they have not been implemented strictly. We too have to give up the habit of crying—”Hey driver, why are you driving slow like a bullock cart?” Keeping each other alert always will reduce the rate of road accidents a lot. Parents as well as the teaching community can control a lot of road accidents through raising awareness. The car is not an organism; it is inert. A living being can take care of itself if it notices it. Only the mind and brain should be fine. A love-life attitude can avoid road accidents.